Front Page: The New York Times, Sunday, April 9, 2023

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Leaked Documents Reveal Depth of U.S. Spy Efforts and Russia’s Military Struggles

The new documents appear to show that America’s understanding of Russian planning remains extensive and that the United States is able to warn Ukraine’s military about Moscow’s future operations.
CREDITMAURICIO LIMA FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

The information, exposed on social media sites, also shows that U.S. intelligence services are eavesdropping on important allies.

Georgia Looms Next After Trump’s Indictment in New York

For Donald J. Trump, the possibility of a second criminal indictment in another state underscores the blizzard of legal challenges he is facing, even as he emerges as the clear front-runner among Republican presidential candidates.

Former President Donald J. Trump now faces a very different legal challenge in the culmination of a more than two-year Atlanta investigation into election interference.

Live Music Is Roaring Back. But Fans Are Reeling From Sticker Shock.

Buying concert tickets has become a mess of high prices and surcharges, anxiety-inducing registrations and pervasive scalping as some of pop’s biggest acts hit the road again.

At Stanford Law School, the Dean Takes a Stand for Free Speech. Will It Work?

After a student protest, Jenny S. Martinez wrote a much-praised memo defending academic freedom. But that protest shows how complicated protecting free speech can be.

World Economic Forum: Top Stories- April 8, 2023

World Economic Forum (April 8, 2023) – This week’s top stories of the week include:

0:15 Vanuatu takes the World to Court – The island state pushed through a historic UN motion which calls on the International Court of Justice, the world’s highest court to establish countries’ legal duties to address the climate crisis. The ICJ will provide an ‘opinion’ on what countries can do to cut emissions and protect people and protect climate-vulnerable people. Although the opinion won’t be legally binding, it will carry huge weight and could be used in climate negotiations and future climate lawsuits.

1:43 Japanese workers just got a historic payrise – Every year, unions of major companies negotiate wages in Spring, for shorter hours and better pay. This year, the parties agreed to a 3.8% wage rise, the biggest raise since 1993. For part-time and contract workers, the raise was even larger, 5.91% per hour. A rise in the cost of living drove the agreements. Consumer prices in Japan have risen 4.2% in a year, The sharpest rise for 40 years. And the real value of wages fell 4.1% in January for the tenth consecutive month.

3:03 Latvia has the most female inventors in Europe – A new study charted the gender gap in European inventors from 1978 to today by counting the women named in patent applications. From 2010-2019, 30.6% of Latvia’s inventors were women. Portugal took second place with 26.8% and third was Croatia, where 25.8% of inventors were women. 4:39 Friends are key to reducing inequality – Researchers wanted to know why some people climb the economic ladder faster than others. So they looked at the Facebook friendships of 72 million people. Here’s what they found.

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The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. We believe that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change.

Travel: Inside The Atomium Sculpture In Brussels

DW Travel (April 8, 2023) – Have you already heard about this bizarre building? The Atomium is one of most iconic landmarks in the Belgian capital Brussels. But what IS the Atomium? And what enigmas are associated with the structure?

Halfway between sculpture and architecture, the Atomium was designed and built for the Brussels World’s Fair (1958), for which it was the flagship building and emblem. Representing an iron unit cell (9 iron atoms) magnified 165 billion times, the monument with its unique silhouette has, over time, grown to become the symbol of Brussels and Belgium.

Exhibits: ‘Art Deco Glass’ – Fort Wayne Art Museum

Fort Wayne Museum of Art (April 6, 2023) – Curators take you on a new gallery tour each month, offering unique perspectives on all FWMoA exhibits. For April 2023, we explore the exhibit Art Deco Glass from the David Huchthausen Collection, on view from April 1 – August 6, 2023.

Art Deco Glass from the David Huchthausen Collection

April 01, 2023 – August 06, 2023

Art Deco Glass: The David Huchthausen Collection – Museum of Glass

The Art Deco period (c. 1910-1940), with its focus on simplified forms and captivating repeating surface treatments, was revolutionary. Inspired by other burgeoning modern art movements of the time including Cubism and Fauvism, the philosophy behind this style aimed to introduce high quality design to a broader market.

The lasting influence of this period can still be seen in today’s Studio Glass movement in style and technique. For many decades, glass artist and collector David Huchthausen has collected with a keen and practiced eye. The quality and depth of his collection would be difficult, if not impossible, to replicate. His collecting history begins with the first pieces acquired while working as a graduate assistant to Harvey Littleton and continues today.

The FWMoA is proud to display his remarkable collection of over 120 Art Deco glass works, which includes many major studios and artists of the period (René Lalique, Steuben Glass Works, Daum Nancy, and Pierre D’Avesn) concurrent with our permanent collection of contemporary glass. This exhibition is organized by the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, WA.

Finance Preview: Barron’s Magazine – April 10, 2023

Magazine - Latest Issue - Barron's

Barron’s Magazine – April 10, 2023:

Inside Morgan Stanley’s Success—and What’s Ahead

Inside Morgan Stanley’s Success—and What’s Ahead

The firm plans to hit $10 trillion in client assets over the next decade. If James Gorman can get it there, the stock will keep winning.

Growth Funds Are Poised to Outshine Again. Here’s How to Pick the Right Ones.

Due to shifting market dynamics, some growth funds might no longer hold what have long been considered growth stocks. Three actively managed funds to consider.

This Fintech Is Safe From Banking Turmoil. Buy It While It’s Cheap.

This Fintech Is Safe From Banking Turmoil. Buy It While It’s Cheap.

Financial-software provider Jack Henry & Associates, at its cheapest valuation in years, can keep prospering even if banks continue to stumble.

Pinterest Is Staging a Turnaround. Why the Stock Is a Buy.

Pinterest Is Staging a Turnaround. Why the Stock Is a Buy.

A new CEO—and an improvement in earnings—means that shares in the social-media site could rise by 20% from current levels.

Front Page: The New York Times – April 8, 2023

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In Dealing With China, U.S. and Europe Take Different Tacks

President Emmanuel Macron of France shaking hands with President Xi Jinping of China in front of large Chinese and French flags.
President Emmanuel Macron of France talked with President Xi Jinping of China about strengthening commerce between Europe and China during a visit to Beijing this month.

The Biden administration says there is “convergence.” But trans-Atlantic leaders adopt different strategies on security and trade issues — including on Ukraine and Taiwan.

U.S. Job Growth Eases, but Extends Its Streak

CREDITELLA KOEZE

Employers added 236,000 jobs as the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate increases appeared to take a toll. The unemployment rate fell to 3.5 percent.

The Biden administration says there is “convergence.” But trans-Atlantic leaders adopt different strategies on security and trade issues — including on Ukraine and Taiwan.

Judge Invalidates F.D.A. Approval of the Abortion Pill Mifepristone

The Texas judge’s ruling was quickly contradicted by another federal judge in Washington State who ordered the F.D.A. to keep mifepristone available.

New Batch of Classified Documents Appears on Social Media Sites

Secret documents that appear to detail American national security secrets on Ukraine, the Middle East and China have surfaced online.

In A.I. Race, Microsoft and Google Choose Speed Over Caution

Technology companies were once leery of what some artificial intelligence could do. Now the priority is winning control of the industry’s next big thing.

The New York Times Book Review – April 9, 2023

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The New York Times Book Review – April 9, 2023:

It’s Like ‘Little Women’ — but With Basketball

This is a series of six small drawings of men and women dressed in white, standing in a hilly rural landscape.
Credit…Kristina Tzekova

In “Hello Beautiful,” Ann Napolitano puts a fresh spin on the classic story of four sisters.

“It is your God-given right as an American fiction writer,” Ursula K. Le Guin once said, to change point of view. But “you need to know that you’re doing it,” she warned, and “some American fiction writers don’t.”

Osamu Dazai, With Help From TikTok, Keeps Finding New Fans

A black-and-white photograph of the author Osamu Dazai, who is resting his chin on his hand and looking to his left.
The Japanese novelist Osamu Dazai.

The enduring appeal of a midcentury Japanese novelist who wrote of alienation and suicide.

The first thing you hear is an eerie synth tone, followed by a portentous, insinuating voice. “Tell me, Dazai,” it says. “Why is it you wish to die?”

“Let’s turn that question around,” someone earnestly replies. “Is there really any value to this thing we call … living?” Then a beat drops, accompanied by distorted shouts.

Real People, Reincarnated in the Pages of New Novels

This is an illustration featuring six coin-like drawings in orange, teal, purple in pink, layered over a monochromatic street scene.
Credit…Michelle Mildenberg

These hefty books explore the lives of a former poet, a polarizing artist and a Scottish rebel from unexpected angles.

One of the great attractions of historical fiction is its ability to approach the past from unexpected angles, allowing us to consider famous figures in surprising ways. It’s a tactic that pays off brilliantly in Stephen May’s elegantly acerbic SELL US THE ROPE (Bloomsbury, 240 pp., paperback, $18), which features a thuggish former poet who calls himself Koba. The world will later know him as Stalin.

Aerial Travel: Genoa In Northwestern Italy (4K)

Drone Snap (April 7, 2023) – Genoa, Italian Genova, ancient (Latin) Genua, city and  Mediterranean  seaport in northwestern Italy. It is the capital of Genova provincia and of Liguria regione and is the centre of the Italian Riviera. Its total area is 93 square miles (240 square km).

Genoa, Italy

Located about 75 miles (120 km) south of Milan on the Gulf of Genoa, the city occupies a narrow coastal plain and the western slopes of the Apennine Range. The city has a mild Mediterranean climate.

Shipbuilding is the major industry; other industries produce petroleum, textiles, iron and steel, locomotives, paper, sugar, cement, chemicals, fertilizers, and electrical, railway, and marine equipment. Genoa also is a major centre for finance and commerce. The port of Genoa leads all other Italian ports in volume of passengers and freight traffic and is the main source of city income. It handles imports chiefly of coal, crude oil, and grain and exports mainly of cotton and silk textiles, olive oil, and wine.

San Francisco Arts: ‘Ansel Adams + Richard Misrach: Exploring Legacies’ (2023)

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (April 7, 2023) – “Ansel Adams + Richard Misrach: Exploring Legacies” is the latest installment of the award-winning short documentary series “FAMSF Presents.”

Featuring archival footage of Ansel Adams, as well as interviews with Berkeley-based photographer Richard Misrach and FAMSF curator Lauren Palmor, this film examines the impact of Ansel Adams’s prolific photography in the Bay Area and beyond. “Ansel Adams in Our Time” is organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in partnership with the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

It is on view at the de Young museum from April 8 until July 23, 2023.